


Right Next To You

by hollyblue2



Series: Drabbles [6]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Canon Divergence S11, Hurt!Cas, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, aftermath of lucifer ejection, comforter!Dean
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-01
Updated: 2016-04-01
Packaged: 2018-05-30 13:26:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6425773
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hollyblue2/pseuds/hollyblue2
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt: I just had an idea for a drabble. Imagine that right after Dean and Sam saved Cas from Lucifer, Cas passes out. Dean carries him to his bed, lays him down, covers him with a blanket, and just sits right next to him on the bed, looking at him. Dean rubs his hand over Cas's forehead, tucking in a tendril of hair around his ear, and then kisses his forehead before letting him sleep. You can think of what happens next.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Right Next To You

The moment Castiel painstakingly ejects Lucifer from his vessel he falls to the floor with a thud. Everything seems to be silence, there’s no shouting between Sam and Dean and Lucifer, no noise of fighting or anything. Dean looks on in horror for a moment before rushing forward. They have Lucifer trapped now, the swirling ball of demon smoke and the tiniest fleck of angel grace flitting around within the confines of the trapping symbol that’s been drawn on the floor in Dean’s blood.

“Cas!” Dean calls. He skids to his knees beside him, Sam not far behind as he holds on tight to the trembling angel below him. As soon as the seizing ceases, Dean brushes back the hair that is sweat slicked to Cas’ forehead back and lets himself breath out relief. He’s cold to touch and his face is pale and Dean makes a mental note to grab the blankets for him. If this were Dean, Cas would have been able to flash him with his angel mojo and he’d be as right as rain, except he’s no angel and Cas’ mojo clearly isn’t working yet.

Picking him up bridal style and holding him close, Dean ignores his brother’s asking to help him and takes him from the old warehouse where they’d set the trap two states over. The darkness is still at large but they can cross one important thing off their list – get Cas back. Dean takes the spare blankets they keep in the trunk into the backseat of the Impala where Cas is laying, still unconscious. He doesn’t know if he should be worried or not, he knows how much possession takes it out of you. Being possessed by the Devil himself, that’s a whole other ball game and Cas must be exhausted.

The trip back to Lebanon, Kansas takes about nine and a half hours at the excessive speed Dean’s going. He keeps glancing back at the angel in the back seat; every time it hurts that little bit more to see him there. There are some cuts on his face that haven’t healed. It’s just taking time for Cas’ grace to readjust, Dean tells himself. He has to or he knows he’ll break down.

There’s a nudge at his arm as Sam grabs his attention and asks if they can stop at the next gas station for the toilet and food. Dean’s stomach rumbles then in agreement and he remembers that he’s not actually eaten for the majority of the day. Getting Cas back from Lucifer had taken a long, long time.

Dean pulls into the Gas ‘n’ Sip and while Sam dashes off to the toilet, he rounds the car and opens the back door to check on the angel. He’s feverish and pale still but he seems calmer than before. Shutting the back door he chances a dash into the shop to grab some chips for himself and cinema sweet popcorn for Cas, because he knew he liked the stuff, even as an angel, it didn’t taste like molecules like most foods.

*

It was the early hours of the morning when Dean pulled up at the Men of Letters Bunker. Dean jostles his brother awake and gives him a small smile, silently asking him to go inside and sleep. Dean picks Cas up out of the car and heads back inside.

Cas doesn’t really have his own room in the bunker. He used Sam’s to binge watch the entirety of Netflix just a few weeks ago and as an angel he didn’t need to sleep so it had never happened. Dean slides Cas under the covers of his own bed and gently lets his head hit the pillow. He sits on the bed next to him for a while, arms folded and legs one over the other just watching and keeping an eye on him. He probably doesn’t need it, but he does anyway.

Cas grumbles in his unconsciousness and Dean snaps his attention to him and sees that Cas’ face is screwed up uncomfortable. Resting a hand over his forehead, Dean cards through Cas’ hair, again and again and again until Cas’ face softens.  Cas’ hair is a wild mess which sometimes can be adorable, not that he’s ever told Cas as much but he trails a loose strand and tucks it behind his ear.

Dean does something then that he’d never expect from himself though it comes as no surprise. He leans over and presses a soft kiss to Cas’ forehead as he sleeps and hears him sigh in response. Dean lets himself smile for a moment. He watches then as the tiny cuts littering Cas’ face, hands and arms begin to disappear. He’s healing himself. His angel mojo is starting to work again.

Relief washes through Dean and he lets himself indulge in another kiss to Cas’ forehead before standing up and making sure that Cas is well and truly tucked in like he deserves. He leaves the large bag of popcorn and a glass of water on the side for him before he leaves to let him sleep longer.

*

It’s thirty-eight hours before Cas wakes up properly. He’d managed to regain consciousness a little during that time but exhaustion pulled him back under as his angelic abilities healed the deeper wounds, the ones that Lucifer left behind.

He stumbles out of Dean’s bed around four o’clock in the morning, not even seeing the popcorn on the side, and goes out into the hallway. His bare feet are silent against the tile flooring as he makes his way to the main area. The bunker is shrouded in a comforting darkness and he breathes in the familiarity of it.

He can see Dean at the table, feet up on the table and half a glass of whiskey in his grip, there’s no telling how many he’s had or how long he’s been awake.

“Hello, Dean,” He smiles and Dean’s head whips round, feet following soon after. Dean’s on his feet before Cas realises and in front of him, squeezing him into a hug he doesn’t think he deserves.

“You’re awake,” Dean sighs and pulls Cas away from him to inspect him.

“I am.” He states as if it wasn’t obvious.

Dean chuckles at the because it’s so… so Cas. And he hasn’t been Cas for too long. “I’m so glad you’re back, buddy.” Dean tells him and pulls him back into one of his Dean hugs. The type of ones that Cas has seen Dean give to Sam when they find each other again.

“Thank you, Dean,” Cas says. Cas knows that the care and comfort Dean gave him while he was unconscious helped kick-start his angel grace again. His grace is getting stronger and stronger now, back it what it used to be. It’s a settling thought as Dean pulls away, he’s talking quietly about what had happened, but Cas knows what happened. He was there, he was aware of everything the entire time. 

 


End file.
